Posts by Tracy Hadden Loh

Tracy Hadden Loh loves cities, infrastructure, and long walks on the beach looking for shark teeth. She holds a Ph.D. in city and regional planning from UNC-Chapel Hill. By day, she is a data scientist at the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis at George Washington University. By night, she is an activist, a law enforcement spouse, and the mother of a toddler. She served two years representing Ward 1 on the Mount Rainier City Council in Prince George's County, MD.

The Montgomery County Council will vote soon to select a new member of the influential Planning Board, as well as for its chair. We think the council should re-appoint chair Casey Anderson, and for the open seat, select Silver Spring resident Partap Verma. Keep reading…

Next week's Board of Public Works (BPW) vote on Maryland Governor Larry Hogan's proposal to add four privately-financed on I-495 and I-270 has been delayed. Residents have raised a variety of concerns about the proposal, which would likely encourage more driving, contribute to global warming emissions, and require some homes and businesses to be razed. Keep reading…

While thousands of words have been devoted to writing about accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on GGWash, we have yet to see a Renaissance of this housing type in our region. Why not? The answer varies between jurisdictions, but in Montgomery County, Councilmember Hans Riemer is tinkering with the policy works to see if he can improve output. Keep reading…

The jurisdictions in our region have taken measurable steps towards implementing transit-oriented development by upzoning land near the region's 91 Metrorail stations. However, at many stations there is still room for improvement, and some stations/jurisdictions are doing much better than others. Keep reading…

My recent look at zoning in the DC region revealed that 82% of land in Montgomery County (not including Rockville and Gaithersburg, which both have local zoning control) is either protected open space (35%) or restricted to detached single family zones (48%). These are staggering numbers. Keep reading…

Yesterday I wrote a post about single-family zoning in the Washington region. I got a lot of constructive feedback on the post, some of which was incorporated into revisions. Readers also wanted to know why I hadn't disaggregated undevelopable land, such as agricultural reserve, preserved open space, and federal lands from single-family zoning. Well… Keep reading…

The US urbanist community has been profoundly shewkby Minneapolis moving last week to end single-family zoning citywide. It raises the question: How much of the Washington region is locked into the least-intensive level of land use via the type of zoning that Minneapolis will now end? Keep reading…

Back for 2018, here's a roundup from our contributors of urbanist gift ideas for kids. In prior years, we have rounded up baby railfan-specific suggestions and more general classics. This year, we've got some ideas for how to shop local in our own great region. Keep reading…

In an area like DC where the population is growing, one question often vexes neighbors: why is that house or storefront vacant? It just doesn’t seem to make sense. Why do landlords leave properties empty when they could be getting rent? Keep reading…

In election races in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, candidates are claiming they “support the environment” or “are for smart growth.” Some of those candidates also seem to be against most development while others are more supportive. It’s hard to make sense of all this. What’s the green view of growth? Keep reading…

All eyes are on stormwater management in Howard County following Memorial Day weekend's stunning images of floods rampaging through historic Ellicott City in Maryland. Why are these floods happening, and can anything be done about it? Keep reading…

After the tragic and untimely death of former Baltimore County executive Kevin Kamentez, his running mate Valerie Ervin has decided to stay in the race as a candidate for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination herself. What kind of governor might she be? Keep reading…

Prince George's County has been slower to urbanize than the other suburban counties surrounding Washington, DC. There are a lot of clear historic reasons for this, but rapid growth in recent years means the county is playing catch-up. The current land use pattern in the county justifies much better local bus service than is currently provided. Keep reading…

Prince George’s County is looking at ways to improve “TheBus,” its local bus service. Of all the local transit systems inside the Beltway, TheBus has by far the smallest fraction of its operating costs covered by fares, so there is a strong financial incentive increase ridership. But first we have to ask: why doesn’t TheBus make more money? Keep reading…

Prince George’s “TheBus” ridership troubles can partly be explained by problems with the bus network’s service. However, it seems that issues with the network’s branding and website also contribute to low ridership and poor public knowledge of the system. Keep reading…

There's a crowded field of hopefuls for Prince George’s County Executive this year, with incumbent Rushern Baker term-limited out and running (with our endorsement!) for governor of Maryland. Who is the right person to follow in Baker's footsteps and advance urbanism in Prince George's County? Keep reading…

Prince George’s TheBus is currently the only bus system inside the Beltway with no weekend or evening service. Expansion of service beyond weekday daytime is the most common improvement requested by county residents, but there are no plans to implement it in the short-term. Keep reading…

The pilot period for dockless bikeshare in the District of Columbia hasn’t concluded yet, but it’s already been disrupted by the next innovation – sharable electric scooters — and disrupted again with Uber’s purchase of JUMP last week. GGWash contributors flagged these developments as a particularly significant evolution for the personal mobility space. Keep reading…

Prince George’s County’s TheBus service provides transportation for thousands of residents every weekday. By several measurements, however, its ridership and cost-effectiveness are among the lowest in the region. TheBus can be better, and we’ll be exploring how in a series of posts. Keep reading…